GBM survivor/Bass player

February 08, 2011

I talked to Dr. Rudnick on Friday afternoon, and he and I are done with Irinotecan and Temodar. He said I'll taking Tarceva and another chemo (don't remembered the name of that one yet), but Rudnick told me that this is easier than Irinotecan. Thank Christ. Nothing is easy about chemo, but not these things are equal. CPT-11 was rough from the begging, then got worse.

I took this pic Saturday ... it was just me and Esme at Cal Tech.

Clearly, that pic is a lot than from the raining a week ago. Cal Tech is so cool, outside of the fact that she was off-leash and I guess that is definitely a no-no when the security guard came over and told us that she needed back on on-leash.

And last ... I've connected this before, but here is a new post from Mike ... pictures of Navin Johnson from "The Jerk" are always are completely outstanding.

January 30, 2011

It's Sunday ... I had read that by tonight, we'd have some rain. Again, we're talking P.M. rain, maybe even showers.

Tonight.

This picture is from 9:45 a.m. There's me ...

And there's Esme ...

Of course, she was loving that shit ... she and I walked over to Memorial Park, which is about eighth blocks or so from my house. This is not thunderstorms, just a little wetness, and this is about her, not me. I'd better inside, watching the TV, seeing everything we have in our DVR.

I took a third pic while we were there, right across the street from Marston's Restaurant. That place is always packed, with a lot of couples and families just waiting outside until it's their turn.

Dana and I went to Cedars on Friday morning. I had the MRI very early, and then right after that we went across the street to see Dr. Rudnick. Everything's the same from those two previous scans ... this time I remember to get a copy of the CDs, and I'm getting a copy of the CD on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

We STILL don't know exactly what's going with that spot, but whatever ... Irinotecam starts tomorrow morning, the seventh one.

January 26, 2011

With this week, my boss is in town, and finally, it's not raining for him. The last TWO times before this, it rained a lot, especially last year; today, perfect weather. The only thing I'm really dealing with right now (I'm ignoring the MRI until Friday ... yeah, right) is the fact that I can not stop leaking out of my nose. What the shit?

This is about the combination of Cannabinoids and Temodar to combat gliomas, a la glioblastoma, etc. I'm definitely going to read further about that, and I'll talk to Dr. Rudnick after the MRI. There is an opportunity to make a full conversation on that what day.

January 20, 2011

I started the sixth infusion for Irinotecan on Monday, and again, it takes at least three days to start feeling back to normal.

I'm waiting to see Dr. Rudnick next week after I have a MRI that same morning at Cedars. After taking the infusion, I just have no idea what it means. Cancerous, something else? The last MRI results were potentially too early to show anything, but at the very least, there were was no more growth, so the next MRI results maybe we'll see something clearer, more definite.

I've said this before, but I'll repeat it: The only time if I feel off is when I take chemo. Outside of that, I feel fine, stable, like nothing happened, outside of being moody for a minute.

I remember talking to Rudnick about the possibility that this frontal spot that it's actually from original radiation stain, and part of it just re-adjusted there. Again, I have no idea what that means. I would love to guarantee that was just it, but I highly unlikely that was the case. So I sit and wait, and see what the next one looks like.

January 15, 2011

It's 82 degrees, sunny. Dana is not there, of course ... her weekend has no free time there, instead of dealing with work stuff in Colorado with her boss and co-workers. I'm trying to ignore that as much as I can, and just focus what I can do.

Earlier today, our friend and neighbor and her dog picked me up with Esme, and we went over the Lower Arroyo Seco at Busch Gardens. To take the circuit, it's about an hour and change, depending how crowded it was. The first, we tried to park at the Casting Pond, but there were too many cars, so we moved down a mile away and parked on the street. We were waiting t0 see some mounties writing tickets to anyone off-leash, but that didn't happen.

Finished the circuit, and then we got back home. I'm still killing time before I hook up with some friends later tonight ... I checked out this new blog, http://ilivedonaboat.blogspot.com/, from my good friend Mike. He just started this one earlier today.

I haven't blogged over the course of 15 days. I thought about writing during after the fifth infusion, and nixed that. Basically, after I finished that infusion, I realized that I hadn't eaten, and by the time I was done, I felt like shit. Got home, went to Jamba Juice and some bread, and then vomited. For six infusion, I'll remember to eat this time. Six infusion is coming up on Monday, halfway done.

January 01, 2011

Every year, we basically ignore the Rose Bowl parade (8 years and counting), and we try to avoid the disgusting trash on Colorado. This morning, I walked down there after the parade to meet up with a couple of friends at Yard House to watch the MSU/Alabama game.

I could have stayed home ... The Spartans got ungodly beat down, and that it wasn't even a game. Final scope was 49-7, and I'm kind of surprised that it was only that score, and not even any worse.

Outside of the fact that I hung out with those guys, that game was brutal. In fact, not only did the Spartans got handed, Michigan got drilled by Mississippi State, Penn State lost to Florida, and Northwestern came close but eventually lost, as well.

Like I said, I could have stayed home, and I wouldn't have to deal with the trash on the street walking back home after the end of the game

The other side ...

When I got home, Dana was outside walking with Mijo, so we walked together for a little while. It was just a block away, but looked it completely different. Just clean and normal, and it's only on Colorado. By time tomorrow, it won't even look like the parade had even been there.

December 31, 2010

Took a couple of pictures on Colorado Blvd. I was coming back from Quizno's, and I saw a bunch of Wisconsin fans. That's still irritating for me ... Michigan State beat them 34-24, but they shit the bed on one game, losing Iowa 37-6 a few weeks later, and it wasn't even that close. The Hawkeyes were up 30-0 in the first half, and that is what completely changed the BCS system for the Badgers. Since the Spartans, Badgers and the Buckeyes tied at 7-1 conference, the Badgers were actually won the bid for the Rose Bowl.

December 27, 2010

After I only saw "Inception" in theaters for most of 2010 (I saw that twice), I finally went to the theater through the holidays to see "Tron: Legacy," "Black Swan," and "True Grit."

I still think that "Inception" is the best movie I've seen in a while, but "Black Swan" was really close, a psychological thriller that showed something different for Natalie Portman that I wasn't expecting. Different range for her, especially towards the second half. So fragile for her. I loved it.

Finished the fourth infusion on last Monday, eight more to go. This one was easier ... not easy, just easier. Taking Ritatin for three days after the infusion helped, and it felt like I could control myself a little more.

The funny thing is, the only thing that makes me feel "off" is just when I take the chemo, nothing more. When I get to back to normal, I feel completely fine. That's just the in-between days where I know I have to adjust.

December 18, 2010

It's raining and cold .... and while I know that the most of the rest of the world couldn't give a shit about "coldness" while every one else has to deal with real cold and snow, it is still annoying that it's been dry for the longest time, and it gets wet, no one in that area remembers to adjust their brakes when it rains.

I had a MRI on Wednesday ... no change with the new frontal lobe spot. Dr. Rudnick told Dana and I that sometimes those MRI's are too soon to fully understand where Irinotecan is really working, but the object is that it makes a lot more sense to be aggressive and diligent as opposed to do nothing. Because of that, we'll know a little more in February with the next MRI.

I took Avastin and Irinotecan two weeks ago, and then I'll take #4 on Monday, then I don't have to deal with that again until after the New Year's. The first infusion was the harshest anyway ... it's getting easier with every subsequent infusion. Although, getting easier isn't the same as being completely easy. I had already got the prescription for Ritalin for a stimulus to help with the tiredness, but I hadn't taken it yet, so Rudnick explained it in more detail, so for the next infusion, between hydration and Ritalin, I should be able to adjust even more positively.

December 05, 2010

December 1, 2010 (Montreal, Quebec) — A large study of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme suggests that the addition of 2 agents — bevacizumab and irinotecan — to standard chemoradiation can extend survival, compared with historic controls.

Of course, at least one doctor is upset about the fact that this study is too wide.

"It's flatly outrageous. It should not have been done," he said in an interview with Medscape Medical News after the session. Dr. van den Bent is past chair of the European Organization of Research and Treatment Brain Tumor Group, and professor of neuro-oncology at the Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Erasmus University, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

I guess I'm most curious about this is, it's always about newly diagnosed patients. With the combination of Irinotecan and Avastin, it is also new for me, as well, but I'm no longer one of the most recent patients who are hoping to extend to 20 months. I'm just starting to add Irinotecan after two and a half years with a (still) great success with Avastin, and for a long time, Tarceva (no longer working, hence the need to start with Irinotecan).

I have another MRI with Dr. Rudnick on December 15, 2010, after I have a third infusion at Dr. Nassir's clinic on Tuesday. Rudnick told Dana and I that the next MRI results might be too soon to truly know if we're see good improvement with this new spot. I'm kind of irritated that I didn't go to imaging center at Cedars after I had the MRI and pick-up a CD. I'll definitely be doing that this time, because I had actually get both of those scans, and see if there's a clear difference.